The Nuptial Culmination
by Lizwontcry
Summary: It's Sheldon and Penny's wedding day, and Penny ponders the long road it took for them to get there.


**A/N - This was written for the Sheldon/Penny LJ Saturnalia exchange thingamajig. There's not a lot of dialogue and it's not exactly the best thing ever, but here it is for your enjoyment regardless. Thanks for reading!**

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They got married on Christmas Eve, at sunset on the beach in Malibu. She was wearing a short white dress and a yellow Penny Blossom in her hair. He was wearing the black suit Penny picked out for him so many years ago; the one that made her realize Sheldon wasn't just a nerd, he was a _man_, and an attractive man at that. As they said their vows in front of all their friends and family, Penny couldn't keep the tears from falling. Sheldon elicited an "Awww!" from all the women in the audience when he leaned in and gently wiped the tears from Penny's exuberant face.

Penny wanted them both to be barefoot, which Sheldon vetoed right away. "Do you even know how dirty public beaches are? Just thinking about it makes me want to live in a plastic bubble for the remainder of my life," Sheldon had commented when she brought it up. Sheldon wanted Raj to conduct the ceremony in Klingon, which Penny vetoed merely by giving him her withering look of "Don't even think about it, mister." In the end, Penny went barefoot and Howard was allowed to recite a poem in Klingon, which seemed to satisfy both parties. Penny and Sheldon's relationship was based on compromise, which, in the beginning, had been very hard for both of them. But they both decided it was worth it. They were worth it to each other.

Amy and Leonard both made it to the wedding (together for some reason, which was fascinating but not altogether odd), which seemed to surprise everyone but Sheldon and Penny. Neither of the break-ups had been pretty, but it had been a very long and interesting year since it all went down and everyone had matured in their own way. Or at least pretended to. It didn't matter how the break-ups happened; all four of them had their own reasons why. What mattered was that Sheldon was devastated and Penny was there to pick up the pieces, even though she was nursing her own broken heart. It all happened very quickly; one moment Sheldon was sitting in his spot on the couch and Penny was holding his hand and telling him that it was going to get better, he wasn't going to feel like this forever, and then he was kissing her. _Really_ kissing her. The kind of kissing Amy wanted for the nearly three years they dated and never received. The kind Sheldon didn't even know how to give. Penny showed him how. How to please her, how to kiss her, how to love her. In return, he taught her that relationships were about more than lust and sex. That she was more than just boobs and butt; that she had a brain and the ability to use it. That she had to face her feelings instead of constantly running away from them.

Penny wasn't even all that surprised that they ended up together. It was there from the beginning. From the way Sheldon looked her up and down in the hallway when they first met, and how she gazed upon his white boards with a mixture of curiosity and awe. Leonard's attraction to her had been much more powerful, however, and it was the catalyst for many years of frustrating feelings that were never truly meant to be. Sheldon and Penny's attraction was in every lesson he gave her in physics, every dollar he'd lend her when she was in trouble again, every sarcastic remark she made that he actually understood, every peek he took when she was at her most vulnerable. They were an unlikely couple; everyone agreed on that, and so did Penny and Sheldon. Penny knew most of their friends and family had trouble taking them seriously, but that didn't bother her. They didn't know how many nights she and Sheldon had stayed up late (no funny business allowed-Sheldon was determined to remain a virgin until their wedding night, which Penny found endlessly frustrating, endearing, and most of all, hot) talking. About all kinds of things. About their shared secret love for country music, about growing up in small towns, about their annoying siblings. Penny listened to Sheldon reluctantly talk about his challenging relationship with his now deceased father, Sheldon listened to Penny cry about her mysterious and exasperating mother and how she wished they were closer. They endlessly talked about their break-ups. Neither of them knew why it was so easy to confide in the other when it was so much harder with Amy and Leonard.

Their late night talks and kissing lessons eventually led them to the altar. They both looked at each other nervously once Penny, led down the aisle by her father, made it to Raj (who was officiating) and Sheldon. When Raj finally, finally said, with a huge grin on his face, "You may kiss the bride," Sheldon nearly lunged to Penny and they kissed each other right there in front of their family and friends like they had something to prove. This caused some applause and some joking shouts of disgust. "Nobody wants to see that!" Howard yelled from the front row.

At the reception, Penny and Sheldon danced together, not even noticing or caring if anybody else was in the room. Everyone watched them with a full range of emotions. Amy and Leonard, Penny's dad, Sheldon's mother, Raj, Howard, Bernadette...they all had their own feelings, but mostly everyone was happy for the two of them. Everyone always enjoys a good love story.

"We are so lucky," Penny whispered in Sheldon's ear while they danced. Penny couldn't believe that after all this time; after moving to California and living with Kurt and her way too long, way too dysfunctional relationship with Leonard, that she finally ended up with Sheldon. He wasn't exactly the man of her dreams, but he was her best friend, she had absolutely no doubts about that. He was the first man she'd ever met who saw her as more than just a body. The first male friend she ever had who never expected more. Although his comments about her lack of intelligence throughout the years always stung, Penny knew Sheldon respected other things about her. Like the way she so skillfully interacted with everyone she came in contact with, and how she was able to change a flat tire in 7 minutes flat (he timed her once). Maybe they didn't have much in common, but they fit together like puzzle pieces. What Sheldon lacked in social graces and what Penny lacked in intellectual knowledge, they made up for when they were together. It just worked. Sometimes she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

"I wouldn't say it's luck," Sheldon said. "Based on the percentage of people who are friends before they get married, I'd say there was a 45% chance-"

Penny silenced her new husband with a kiss. She knew this method wouldn't always work, but on their wedding day, it did.

When the song was over, Penny felt a tap on her shoulder. Suddenly, there was Leonard. And he wanted to dance.

"May I cut in?" Leonard asked timidly. She had to give him credit; he sure did have balls to ask her for anything after everything that happened between them.

"Yes, may I cut in as well?" And now Amy. Well, Penny supposed it was only appropriate for the two of them to show up at the same time.

Sheldon looked questioningly at Penny, who just nodded. Why not? They were married now. They had nothing to lose.

Penny watched as Amy took Sheldon's hand and they scooted across the floor together. "They look weird together now, don't they?" Leonard asked as he put an arm around Penny. His arm was familiar and comfortable, but Penny found no satisfaction or nostalgia or anything for Leonard's touch. That was just a distant memory now.

"They're cute together," Penny said. She always thought Amy and Sheldon were cute together. Annoying, but cute.

"We were cute together once," Leonard whispered. Penny finally looked him in the eye and he sighed. "Sorry. That was out of line."

Penny thought of a thousand things to say, but it wasn't the time or place. The past was the past, and she wasn't even really that bitter. There would be no drama here today. Leonard was not going to mess this day up for her.

So instead of replying, she just held on to Leonard and they danced silently for the rest of the song. She could tell by the look on his face when it was over that it wasn't what he had in mind when he cut in. But that wasn't her problem. Not anymore.

Finally Amy released Sheldon and he found his way back to Penny. Penny exhaled. He was the only man she ever wanted to dance with again. She told him as much.

"Penny...thank you."

"For what, sweetie?"

"For your patience. For waiting for me. Waiting for-for the coitus."

Penny laughed. Oh, he was so cute when he was nervous.

"Oh, is that tonight? I forgot. Maybe we can wait a few days, see if we change our mind about it or something."

Sheldon looked sad for a moment, then confused, and then he grinned. "Sarcasm?"

"You got it." Penny knew their night was going to be very...intriguing. Maybe she didn't know about physics or the Higgs boson or particle theory, but she knew her way around the bedroom. Tonight Sheldon was going to get an education, and she couldn't wait to be his teacher.

They were going to have to work at this marriage and it probably would never be easy, but that's the thing about soul mates-once you find yours, it doesn't have to be easy. It just has to feel right. And as Sheldon kissed Penny again, softly and gently, everyone in the room knew that although it was strange, it was definitely right.


End file.
